Invest in the Fight Against Superbugs

A new law could make it more profitable for drug makers to produce treatments for drug-resistant infections. Here's how to play it.

Once upon a time, drug makers avoided antibiotics like the plague.

And who could blame them? Though antibiotics used to kill bacterial infections are fundamental to modern medicine, they can have a difficult path through the Food and Drug Administration. And because doctors typically prescribe the drugs for short durations and hold the newest medications for the worst cases, antibiotics don't generate big returns for drug makers.